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Hello everyone! I recently bought a 2001 CLK430 with 40K miles on it. Drove it home, put it in the garage and it's been sitting for the past week while I changed various filters on the car. The other day I noticed a very large oil leak coming from the bottom of the car. I jacked the front end and confirmed that it's oil...and while the car was jacked up a SECOND fluid started dripping from the underside of the car - a clear, odorless liquid that i think is water. I am going to investigate the source of the leak but was wondering if anyone had similar problems with their CLK. I'm wondering if it's the oil pan gasket. My wife has a 2001 BMW 330ci, a model that is notorious for oil leaks via the oil pan/pan gasket. My wife's car did not have such a large amount of oil coming from her car, though.
Maybe someone who has knowledge of this type of occurrence could let me know what their CLK issue turned out to be? Thank you in advance.
The water leak is more than likely coming from drains or exhaust. However, the leak from engine my be cracked oil pan (the size of puddle) or the valve cover gaskets. Did you see smoke coming from the engine area when shutting car off? I would check both and take action. Hope this helps
R,
2Merks
thanks for the reply. i looked at the oil pan. no apparent cracks. no engine smoke when the car was last driven. i'm wondering if it's the oil level sensor or the oil pan gasket. too much oil put in the car - the dipstick shows the max amount of oil? i'm taking it to the dealer in a few days and they can fix it. when i bought the car i did not realize that mercedes service manual instructions were not readily available. thanks again for your time!
No worries.. That puddie is sort of large, but I hope the dealer sorts it out . Do you have any indies near you? I would check them out (price wise) could save you a couple of $$, and who would'nt love that right? Lol
R,
2Merks
i'd attempt to fix it myself...but in the words of gordon gecko, "i'm up to my eyeballs with more nuts than a fruitcake." so i'll bite the bullet and pay the dealer. thanks for your help!
actually, it's not going to be MY clk. it's a gift for my mom. she's been saying for many years that she wants a mercedes but has never pulled the trigger on it (she has a very practical side that objects to such largesse). so we found a low-mileage clk and my siblings and i decided to get it for her. that's the reason for all the small (and large) maintenance jobs - the previous owners might not have driven it often, but they did not maintain it as well as you might have wanted them to: wrong oil, wrong coolant, dirty brake fluid, very old air and cabin filters, etc.
Wow! What a loving SON and siblings!!! That really nice to hear! What other fixes have you done so far? What i like about the w208 is reliable unlike the newer types which is prone to problems. ABS/BAS went out on me years ago, my fan belt popped, and vavle cover gaskets! Other than that just your usually maintenance which I do myself.
R
2merks
i replaced the thermostat, drive belt and drive belt tensioner. i'll eventually replace the steering damper. maybe a few other things. the dealer is going to have to handle the oil leaks and things of that nature. too complicated for me!
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